Clip boards are commonly used in various settings including business offices, medical offices, construction sites, gymnasiums, and retail establishments. Clip boards are used to retain one or more flexible pieces of paper or other sheets against a rigid board or other back surface. A clamp member is typically used to retain the sheets against the back surface.
When the sheets are retained against the rigid back surface of a clip board, the user is provided with a hand-held writing surface which might otherwise be unavailable. In addition to providing a hand-held writing surface, clip boards also serve numerous other convenient functions. For example, a clip board may serve as a clamping device for simply retaining a plurality of sheets together. As another example, a clip board may serve as a rigid backing device providing a solid structure for one or mole sheets when passed from one person to another or when being held by an individual for viewing away from a desk or table.
With typical boards, a user wishing to insert an additional sheet into the clip board must press down on the tab of the clamp member with one hand in order to release the clamping action of the clamp member against the board. The user is then able to insert a piece of paper between the clamp member and the board with the other hand. This two handed action is often inconvenient when one of the user's hands is already occupied. For example, if the user is holding a small cellular telephone against his or her ear, it may be difficult for the user to simultaneously insert an additional sheet of paper into a traditional clipboard.
While sheet retaining apparatus have been provided in the past that would allow a user to insert a sheet into a clamping device with a single hand, such previous sheet retaining apparatus have relied on the use of gravity to maintain a clamping force on the sheets. However, users of clipboards often orient the boards in numerous directions including sideways and up-side-down. Accordingly, these past sheet retaining devices which rely on gravity to maintain a clamping force on the sheets are not useful for incorporation as part of a clip board.
Another concern with past clip boards having a clip attached to a board involves the accidental removal of the sheets from the clamp member. In particular, when the user grabs the clip board by the clamp member, the release lever on the clamp member may be accidentally depressed. Accidental depression of the clamp member typically causes the sheets held by the clip board to be released from the clip board, and they may fall to the ground.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus for retaining sheets against a rigid back surface wherein only a single hand is required to insert the first or additional sheets into the apparatus. It would also be advantageous if such sheet retaining apparatus could be oriented in any direction without the sheet retaining apparatus losing its clamping force against the sheets. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if such sheet retaining apparatus included a release mechanism configured to avoid accidental release of sheets from the apparatus. It would be desirable to provide a clip board or other sheet retaining apparatus that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features as may be apparent to those reviewing this disclosure. However, the teachings disclosed herein extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned advantages.